Emotional stress is a contributing factor to oxidative stress and to the six leading causes of deaths in the United States: cancer, coronary heart disease, accidental injuries, respiratory disorders, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide (study 1, 2).

20. Autism

Anecdotal evidence suggests that autistic patients have an increased prevalence of migraines.

There are also many clinical similarities between autism and migraines (study).

Ninety percent of sinus headaches are misdiagnosed and actually meet the criteria for migraines. Sixty percent of those misdiagnosed patients are treated with antibiotics that will only increase the risk of migraines (study).

26. Heart Attack and Stroke

A 2016 study that followed 1700 women over twenty years found that migraine increased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 50 percent, heart attack by 39 percent, and stroke by 62 percent (study).

Male migraineurs have a similar increased risk of heart attack, according to Harvard research (study).

A recent study found that female migraineurs have more than double the risk of suffering a stroke (WebMD).

Oxidative stress levels are raised in chronically stressed caregivers, clinically depressed patients, and even college students before examinations (study).

36. Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension (IIH)

Idiopathic Intracranial Hypertension translates into the unknown cause (idiopathic) of pressure (hypertension) within the skull (intracranial).

The majority of chronic migraineurs that are unresponsive to medications have increased intracranial pressure. Pressure and migraine disability can be temporarily relieved by a lumbar puncture (study).

Obesity is common in IIH patients and obesity predicts intracranial pressure in migraineurs (study).

Obesity is associated with oxidative stress and IIH has been associated with increased levels of oxidative stress in some patients (study).

37. Celiac Disease

A 2013 Columbia University study found that celiac patients had triple the odds of having migraines.

Gluten sensitive patients had 9.5 times the odds of having migraines as the control group (study).

Oxidative stress is released as a result of the toxic response to gluten in celiac patients (study).

A 2016 study of 5015 migraineurs found that migraine more than doubled the risk of erectile dysfunction (study 1, 2).

About 68 percent of female migraineurs also suffer from sexual dysfunction (most notably from a lack of desire and arousal) (study).

Oxidative stress accumulates in the erectile tissue (clitoris or penis tissue) of erectile dysfunction patients and plays a role in the progression of erectile dysfunction (study 1, 2).

Updates:

41. Fibromyalgia
A 2015 study of over 1700 fibromyalgia patients found that 55.8% had migraines (study).

Oxidative stress and inflammation are common in the skin of fibromyalgia patients (study). Fibromyalgia is characterized by widespread muscle pain and fatigue.

42. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Adults with ADHD are significantly more likely to have a migraine diagnosis. Men with ADHD have a doubled risk of migraine (study).

A study published in 2016 found that oxidative stress levels are significantly higher in children with ADHD (study).

Why Oxidative Stress?

A 2016 study found that nearly all migraine triggers are associated with oxidative stress (full article). The conditions associated with migraine further establish the role of oxidative stress in migraines.

Many of the studies above found that migraines increased the likelihood of a disease.

It’s evident that migraines are the body’s defense mechanism against the deadly buildup of oxidative stress.

High levels of oxidative stress do in fact increase the odds of having migraines four-fold (study).

Other studies discussed showed that migraines developed after a disease or became significantly worse as a disease took hold.

This evidence suggests that diseases worsened by oxidative stress will increase the likelihood of migraines.

Genetics is Only One Part of the Equation

A genetic predisposition to migraines, obesity, cardiovascular disease, or anything else is not a death sentence. It’s far from it.

Genetics make obesity more likely, but that doesn’t mean you can’t avoid obesity by reducing fattening foods that cause oxidative stress.

The good news is that migraines are part of a headache threshold that is based on total levels of oxidative stress.

You may not be able to avoid certain allergens in the air or stressful situations, but that’s ok. You can reduce total levels of oxidative stress in a multiple of other ways.

Research shows that dietary changes are the most successful way to improve the headache threshold and completely eliminate migraines—in as little as three days (full article). Food eliminations can even make triggers such as noise or stress nonexistent.

The 3-Day Migraine Diet is based on successful studies that have eliminated migraines in addition to reducing oxidative stress.

The 3-Day Headache “Cure”book and guide are also great resources for finding and eliminating the oxidative stress caused by the top migraine triggers.